Rugby Union Thread

What Do You Think Of Rugby Union?


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Shiredad

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... maybe it's just that we need more Fijians in the game!

Check this video on You Tube

The guy in Orange (and also later, much skinnier in white) is Rupeni Caucaunibuca ... 110kg, and one of the fastest runners in World Rugby

The all black dude is Joe Rokococko (sp?)

And of course, Lote Tuqiri.

enjoy!

p.s. look out for the Chris Latham cameo ... gold jersey, #15, runs through heaps of defenders
 

HrvatskaDomovino

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I can appreciate the technical aspects of Rugby but the play is to congested for ppl to consistently see great attacking play. Even my beloved Brumbies have reverted to a dull boring style of play. Great package though, thanks shireboy
 

Megashark

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Thanks for that clip Shireboy, some great tries there for sure; but I guess the cynic in me wonders exactly how many hours of rucks, mauls, scrums lineouts and stoppages the bloke who put that clip together had to wade through before he could actually find any action :D , it must have been like trying to find a needle in a haystack! There are obviously some talented Fijian footballers and it's a shame that more of them don't play in the NRL, because rugby league would really give them a chance to showcase their skills on a regular basis throughout a match, rather then the few touches they would normally get in a game of rugby union. But I guess a guy like Ray Warren would be pretty relieved there aren't many Fijians going around in the NRL, can you imagine him trying to pronouce some of those names??!! :p
 

Shiredad

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As with anything, there is the element of personal preference. I love watching Lawn Bowls, my wife can't stand it. She loves watching cricket, I'd rather watch grass grow.
 

Shiredad

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joke? ok ...

but yeah, I agree Peachey - the sad thing that happened when Rogers went to the tahs, was that Matt Burke - an absolute hero in the game - was pushed out of position, and eventually moved to England to play club rugby over there.

Of course, on arriving in England and playing for the Newcastle Falcons, he shot right to the top and they love him to bits. He's 34 and still ripping it up. 'Doing a burkey' is when one player on a team scores all the points, and wins the game 90-0.
 

zakspiders

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Let's vote on rugby!

since there is so much talk about rugby at the moment (on a league site no less!)i thought we could have a poll! vote and comment please
 

Shiredad

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I know that most of you guys will probably vote the hate option, and once I would have too. I grew up a league boy, and my heart will always be in love with the Sharks.

I started watching Rugby in about 1998-99, the year that Australia won the world cup - I had only seen about 2-3 games on telly, but I stayed up for the final against France. I was blown away by the depth of competition - every ruck, maul, lineout, scrum was a competition. Every time a player was tackled, you'd never know which team would win possession, it was really nail-biting stuff.

I was also blown away by rucks ... I was used to seeing a player get tackled, held down until he started humping the ground, then everyone would get off and he would play the ball. But seeing a player tackled, then 3 or 4 players diving into the ruck (Tiann Strauss in #19 for Australia - I remember him clearly diving head first into a ruck and thinking 'he's putting his body on the line there, this is psycho!') it just blew me away.

After the 99 world cup, the Wallabies had some really successful years, up until the 2003 World Cup, and Johnny Wilkinson changed the game forever. He beat France in the semi-final with his boot, and he did the same to us. Union all around the world adapted to this conservative style of play, where position and points became more important than scoring tries and winning with flair. It's sad to see, and I hope it changes.

Since 2003, I've gotten more into the Waratahs as my other team. I've also been able to see games from all around the world - Ulster v. Leinster, South African teams fighting it out in the Currie Cup, Namibia getting smashed 149-0 by the Wallabies, Argentinian teams sending valuable, skilled players to Europe, then reforming to play for their country for no pay and barely any training, but still smashing England. Seeing australian players retire to Japan (Nathan Grey, Toutai Kefu) to help develop the game there.

And that's the other factor about Union that I love. It's more of a world game than league. I just hope that something is done to eradicate Johnny Wilkinson-inspired boring style of play.
 

sharks195

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sorry shireboy, i can't get into union, i prefer league, gridiron and tennis.
 

sharks195

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sounds very inspiring mate, but as i said before it isn't thrilling for me, i would play gridiron before i'd play union.
 

sharks195

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sorry you might have mis-read, i said that i would prefer to play gridiron, not that i do play gridiron. in all honesty i would play rugby league as my first choice, seeing as i already play tennis.
 

Capital_Shark

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I despise the outdated game, and for the record; as we are 'league' it is 'union.' Calling them 'Rugby' marginalizes league as a bastardised version of some superior code. I don't care if you enjoy both codes, but this is one hair that needs to be split.
 

Megashark

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Shireboy, thanks for the background to your interest in rugby union. Gee you would be in your element over here in NZ, the extent to which that game hogs the limelight here is unbelievable!

As I see it, they are two very different games despite their shared origins. Rugby union is dominated by the battle for possession between the two sides, whereas the emphasis in rugby league is on making the most effective use of that possession. Whichever game you prefer, comes down to exactly what it is that you want to watch. Personally, the reason I watch a game of football is for the contest between the attack and defence, I love watching the big hits and I love watching brilliant and elusive running of the football. I don't watch a game of football for the set pieces or to see piles of bodies obscuring the football in a scramble for possession, or for incessant and aimless kicking. Perhaps the thing which confuses me the most about rugby union, is to witness the constant battle for possession in rucks, mauls, and set pieces, only to have the five-eighth kick the ball back to the opposing side, often on the very next play - a seemingly pointless exercise. It frustrates the hell out of me to watch it, so I can only imagine how the opposing sets of forwards would feel! Sure, you will occasionally see a few moments of attractive attacking play in a game of rugby union, but more often than not you have to sit through an hour or so of set pieces, stoppages and aerial ping-pong in order to see it - something I do not often have the patience to do! You are obviously a lot more patient than I am Shireboy and I commend you for your ability to appreciate both games equally, different though they may be.

As for rugby union being more of a world game, this is for two reasons only; firstly historical factors such as its establishment in areas such as South Africa and NZ at an early stage; and secondly it is due to the short-sighted and inward-looking perspective of rugby league administrators over the years. If it came down purely to attractiveness as a spectacle and easiness to understand, then rugby league would surely be by far the more widespread game in my opinion.
 

Capital_Shark

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If it came down purely to attractiveness as a spectacle and easiness to understand, then rugby league would surely be by far the more widespread game in my opinion.

Well thats essentially why there is a difference between union and league, as they both started out the same game. The league players wanted to make money from playing, in order to do that they had to offer more of a spectacle to get the punters through the gates. Union were happy to remain amateur, didn't need to impress people with their brand as people in the crowd made no difference to them.
 

Megashark

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Capital that is correct, but now that rugby union is a professional game as well how do you think that will change things? From what I can gather, the laws of union are more convoluted and difficult to understand than ever, nearly everyday you can hear viewers and even commentators and players complaining that they can't follow what's happening. It makes me laugh when sometimes you see a subtitle come up on the TV screen to explain to the viewer why such-and-such a penalty was given! :confused:
 
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